Influence of Jazz and the Blues with an Emphasis on Louis Armstrong and Willie Johnson essays

Influence of Jazz and the Blues with an Emphasis on Louis Armstrong and Willie Johnson essays Perhaps more than any other form of music, jazz music means America. Jazz music, like America itself, is a melting pot of ideas, emotions, and traditions. According to Joachim Berendt, jazz is a form of music that emerged in the United States as a combination of African American and European music. The instrumentation, melody, and harmony are influenced by Western music while the rhythm, phrasing, and production of sounds are influenced by African American music. When we examine at the history of jazz, we encounter a variety of musicians and styles that are unique and impressive in practically every way. Undoubtedly, jazz us unique and important to the soul of American music. One incident that emphasizes the significance of jazz occurred in 1977. This was the year that NASA launched Voyager I and included a recorded greeting for anyone who might discover it. This recording included the jazz greats Louis Armstrong and Blind Willie Johnson as representatives of American culture. That NASA would include jazz musicians indicates the significance that jazz music has had not only on American music, but music While jazz is distinctly American, it can sometimes be difficult to define. One thing that almost everyone can agree upon is the fact that jazz has been a "progenitor of new forms, an inventor of new languages, a creator of new ways to express meaning" (Gennari 1991 439). Another aspect about jazz music that sets it apart is the fact that it hinges on process instead of form. Gennari notes that this allows for jazz to generate new meaning with almost every performance. Because of its subversion of traditional cultures and its "reshaping of aesthetic and social boundaries, jazz has helped define the cutting edge of twentieth century Western A close cousin to jazz is the blues. Shipton notes that two are "genres are joined at the hip like Siamese Twins" (Gioia 1997 4...